Kentucky Mother Barely Escapes Blood Poisoning from Average Habit

By: Katrina Manning | December 5, 2015

Audree Kopp is a mother from Louisville, Kentucky who got a vicious rash from doing something anyone else would do.

As part of her normal routine, she threw a glittery hair tie around her wrist before leaving her home. The texture of the glitter made an invisible scratch on Kopp's skin. At that point, bacteria on the band started to seep into her system. Not to long after, she noticed a bump on her wrist about the size of a quarter.

She did see a doctor who said it was "no big deal" and administered a round of antibiotics. Yet, the next morning, she had an open wound and barely avoided sepsis or blood poisoning.

She went for a second opinion, and doctors were stunned that the infection hadn't reached her bones and tendons. Dr. Amit Gupta, one of Kopp's doctors, warns that carrying hair ties on your wrist can quickly lead to infections.

Kopp wants to share her story and wrote, "Please share this, because I'm pretty sure 90% of us don't think twice about keeping hair ties on our wrists."